Luhansk Governor Serhiy Hayday announced that more than 5,000 Russian soldiers in Lyman, Donetsk were surrounded by the Ukrainian army. Hayday said that the Russian army asked their command for permission to retreat but it was not replied positively, and now the army is surrounded. Hayday says that the Russian army has three options at the moment. They can either try to escape, surrender, or die. He added that almost every path that will lead them to city exits or military equipment are blocked. Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, shared a video of Ukrainian soldiers unfurling Ukrainian flag and saying “It’s October 1st. We are unfurling our national flag and planting it to the ground.”
Ukraine’s regain of Lyman’s control will be “one of Russia’s worst military defeats” since the invasion began on February 24. If the Ukrainian army takes control of Lyman, this will allow Ukraine to completely clear the northern part of the Donetsk region and advance into the neighboring Luhansk region.
After Russia captured Lyman in late May, it had turned the city of Lyman into an important logistics center for troop deployment and ammunition supply. The city is also strategically important as an important railway hub connecting Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions in eastern and northeastern Ukraine.